


Before You Met Me, I Was Alright (But Things Were Kind Of Heavy)

by RavenpuffWrites



Series: Beauty and the Mermaid [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And night terrors, Anxiety Disorder, Background Relationships, Basically everyone is gay except three people, Before Canon technically??, Blaine also has a stutter, Blaine has PTSD, Charlie is pan, Dalton Academy, Dalton Shenanigans, David is Bi, Gen, Jeff is also Bi, Josh and James are Queer, Julius is trans, M/M, Mason is Aro/Ace, Nick is very gay for Jeff, Other, Panic Attacks, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Sadie Hawkins Dance, There's also a lot of disney references because why not, Wes and David are platonically married, also Wes has a girlfriend, also he has glasses cause he's farsighted, sometimes it's a chat fic too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 06:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17913650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenpuffWrites/pseuds/RavenpuffWrites
Summary: Most days it feels like Blaine's forgotten how to breathe.I was like Sadie Hawkins had caused him to be dropped into the middle of the ocean, and every day was spent fighting to keep his head above, to not drown, not drown, not drown-Breathe.Now that he's starting Dalton, Blaine doesn't know if he'll ever be able to escape the ocean.But maybe he can make some friends that will teach him how to swim.





	Before You Met Me, I Was Alright (But Things Were Kind Of Heavy)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic 3 years now in the making, and it's a rewrite of a previous story of mine called Cannonball, but updated to fit in with the new changes I've made to the series.  
> It's the first chaptered fic of several planned to tell the life of Blaine Anderson at Dalton.  
> This one follows his first year. The story of what happens before we meet him on the show. 
> 
> It's a bit of a long story to tell. So buckle in kiddos.  
> I hope you enjoy.

When Cooper woke Blaine up that morning, excitement shining on his face at the prospect of returning back to school, it was only the fact he was still half asleep that managed to keep his own levels of anxiety down. Even a shower wasn’t enough to wake him out of his three hours of sleep haze, especially at an hour when the sun had hardly started to rise. Cooper teased that Blaine looked “adorable” stumbling around his room as he collected the last of his things not already packed into Cooper’s car.

By the time he climbed into the car Blaine was demanding coffee, and since students couldn’t move in until 9, and it wasn’t even 7:30 when they finally snuck out of the house (before their dad could wake up, thankfully), Cooper agreed to kill some time with breakfast and yes coffee for both of them. They managed to waste an hour eating breakfast and talking about everything but school in hopes of keeping Blaine’s anxiety calm just a little while longer, but eventually, efforts to distract him became fruitless.

In less than an hour, he would be an official Dalton boy. Back in school for the first time since the Sadie Hawkins dance that nearly left him dead. Cooper has grown well practiced in the art of spotting a panic attack growing on his brothers face before it could start, and so he quickly paid the tab before leading Blaine out of the noisy restaurant and into a quiet car.

They sat for a few minutes in the parking lot as Blaine counted his breaths trying to calm down, and Cooper spoke soft reassurances that everything would be okay. Once Blaine was no longer on the verge of a panic attack, Cooper gave the boy a wild grin as he pulled the car out of the parking lot.  

“What would you say, Squirt,” Cooper said, in the tone that only ever meant he was about to cause a bit of mischief. “If I suggested we take a private tour of Dalton on our own?”

“Couldn’t we-we get in trouble for th-th-th-that?” Blaine asked, and for a moment he couldn’t tell if it was fear or excitement coursing through him at the thought of breaking the rules so early.

Cooper only grinned wider at Blaine’s question, answering “That’s the fun part.”

* * *

"Welcome to Dalton!" Cooper said as they pulled into the parking lot of the school, stopping in front of the castle-like main building that made up the center of the premises. "The best school in the state and home of the finest show choir group in history, The Warblers, who besides being incredible singers are also just incredible people."

Blaine gaped at the school as they came to a stop, shocked and more than a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of the school. There were several buildings all connected by covered walkways, all of them leading back to the center, and the grand entry of Dalton. He hadn’t even gone and inside and already Blaine felt lost trying to make sense of it all.

“You look worried,” Cooper laughed, smiling at Blaine as he carefully nudged him in the side, assuring “Don’t worry. All newbies get a map of the school, and all the halls are labeled to help avoid confusion. Before long you’ll be navigating Dalton like it’s second nature, don’t worry.”

“Too late,” Blaine mumbled, a slight smile on his face regardless and Cooper only smiled broader, getting out of the car as he replied  

"That’s the spirit, Squirt!”

“Don’t call me that,” Blaine pouted, half-heartedly shoving Cooper away from him when they met in front of the car. He only resisted for a moment before allowing the comforting weight of his brother’s arm to rest around his shoulders as they walked towards the school. As they approached the front doors, Blaine asked nervously "Coop, are you sure-sure we won’t get in trouble for sn-sn-sneaking in?”

"Nah. I told the headmaster I might stop by early to tidy things up in the music room, get it ready for auditions tonight," Cooper explained, smirking a bit as he led Blaine into the school, stopping just inside the main entrance so that he could look around. “Of course I’m pretty sure Wes has done that three times over and even if I wanted to help out there would be nothing left to tidy, but Dean Windsor doesn’t know that.”

"You lied?" Blaine asked, snapping out of his daze to glare slightly at his big brother unamused. Cooper laughed, ruffling Blaine's hair and laughing as his brother frantically slapped his hands away. "Cooper!"

"You seriously put way too much gel in your hair," Cooper replied, slightly disgusted as he wiped his hand off on his pants. "And I didn’t fully lie, but it was for a good reason.”

"It's your fault for messing with my hair." Blaine retorted, sticking his tongue out childishly at his brother, a hint of a smile on his face. After a moment he added softly “Th-Thanks Coop.”

"Hey, what are big brothers for?” Cooper said, squeezing Blaine’s shoulder lightly before leading further into the main hall, stopping just short of the staircase to explain. “Straight to your left is the Math/Information Technology Wing of Dalton, and beyond that in the farthest wing of the school is the science labs. It’s one of the newer buildings actually, however it’s also one of the most dangerous considering the mad scientists of Dalton are regularly creating experiments liable to explode in some way or another. Most of us tend to avoid it except when we have classes.”

“It’s usually more inconvenient than dangerous when their experiments fail” Cooper added when he noticed the concerned look on Blaine’s face. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it pretty quickly and realize there’s not much to worry about.”

“Say-Says you,” Blaine replied apprehensively, taking one last glance out the window at the building before following Cooper along on his tour

“Straight out the back, down that long walkway there, that’s the dorm hall. It’s the newest building on Dalton’s campus, and also one of the largest. It has three wings and four floors and if you’re going to wind up getting lost anywhere, it’s probably there. I still get turned around in the place, and I’ve been to every corner of it possible for one Warbler crisis or another.” Cooper sighed, feigning annoyance despite the fact Blaine knew very well his brother loved being the one everyone came to when they needed help.

"The cafeteria is just ahead of us, one of the favorite spots of all the Dalton boys, though not quite as much as the little cafe/coffee station over there on the right that also leads into the first floor os the library. It’s basically always busy, Dalton boys love their coffee, but the good news is, lines move pretty fast. Most students tend to get the same thing at about the same time, after a few weeks they fall into a rhythm and can fill orders pretty fast.”

"And what do they do about you Mr. 'I-Have-To-Change-My-Order-Everyday'?" Blaine teased, not missing the way Cooper rolled his eyes quite dramatically, as he led Blaine out of the main hall onto one of the covered bridges, and said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"Obviously my order changes based upon who's working. Different students work different days, and every semester they switch out, they have like a little list for their most consistent customers so they can have their drink ready in time. So for me different students have different ideas of what to give me. I always let them decide." Cooper explained, gesturing vaguely to another building Blaine could only assume held more classrooms (The sign pointing towards the hall read “Liberal Arts” wing) as they walked past it. "One of my friends worked there last year, and he used to just mix a whole bunch of shit together when he worked and give it to me. Another guy only served me Pumpkin Spice Lattes, just because he had once heard me complain about how everyone was obsessed with them at Warblers practice. The worst part is he did it in spring so that I would look like I was the crazy obsessed one. It didn't help that they were really good, like mind-blowingly awesome, so it wasn't like I could just refuse them. Damn, I really want one now. I wonder how much David would make me pay him just to sneak in there and make me another one."

"I would guess at least $100. Maybe more if he’s feeling more expensive that day." A voice said as they entered the building at the end of the hall, causing Blaine to nearly jump out of his skin, the anxiety settling in before he could even quite register what was happening. The only thing that kept him from running was the weight of Cooper’s arm around his shoulder, which was rapidly shifting from something comforting to one that was stifling.

“Wes?” Cooper questioned, looking around the seemingly empty room for his friend but the boy was nowhere in plain sight. “You can’t just speak into the void and then pretend you’re not here Wesley, it doesn’t work like that.”

It took a few seconds, but eventually Wes’ head popped up over the top of the couch closest to the door, revealing his position to both Anderson boys. “Maddie was texting me, okay, I had to respond.”

“Wes, you posted a picture with her less than an hour ago.” Cooper deadpanned, sighing heavily when Wes just shrugged in a ‘so what’ manner as a response. “I am not looking forward to seeing your reunion with David considering it’s been months since you two have seen each other.”

“You’re just jealous because you and Evan are like divorced parents who remained friends for the sake of the children, and you’re good friends but also there’s nothing else behind that.” Wes teased, causing Cooper to chuckle quietly at the description of his relationship with his best friend.

Before Cooper had a chance to respond, his attention was diverted away from Wes and back to Blaine, as the younger boy finally ducked out from underneath his arm, taking a few steps back in an attempt to gain space, gain air, gain distance from the crushing weight of anxiety that was making it increasingly hard to breathe.

“Blainey? Hey, it’s okay Blaine you’re safe,” Cooper soothed, his voice dropping to a soft whisper so that he wouldn’t set his brother off any further. He took a step to the right to block Wes from Blaine’s view, remove the stressor that all Blaine had to focus on was Cooper. “Look at me. We’re going to count your breaths, Blaine, okay? You’re good at this, I know you are. Just try to follow along with me, 4-7-8 just like we practiced.”

Cooper waited until Blaine’s eyes had locked onto his before he started counting, keeping his patience even though it took several tries for Blaine to make it through the whole count. When his brother no longer looked ready to take off at any moment, Cooper turned towards Wes, asking him “Wes, do you mind going over to the other side of the room so B can sit down? Just until he’s calmed down a bit?”

“Yeah, of course,” Wes nodded, his voice hardly above a whisper, and Cooper offered him a tired half-smile of thanks as Wes crossed the room, settling himself on the floor underneath the window, enough out of sight Blaine couldn’t directly see him, but enough in view that when he eventually stood up it would scare the younger Anderson again.

“We’re going to go sit down on the couch now, okay Blaine? Keep counting your breaths, and we’re going to walk straight ahead and sit down on the couch until you feel a little better. Are you okay to let me touch you, or do you want to walk by yourself?” Cooper asked, waiting until Blaine nodded his head to say it was okay before placing a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the couch, still counting breaths as they did so.

Wes watched the two from across the room, a somber mood settling over him as it hit him for the first time just how bad things with Blaine actually were. Cooper had told them, of course, kept them updated all through the summer about how Blaine was doing, the problems he was having, the small victories and every setback. But hearing about it over text and over the phone couldn’t compare to seeing it in person.

It was Cooper that struck Wes the most. It had only been a few months but still, he seemed to have aged years in the time since Wes last saw him. He almost seemed to be a different person, the Cooper Wes knew certainly was never this calm and collected when one of his friends panicked. He had never seen him look so serious either, and the way he carried himself was as if suddenly the entire world was resting on his shoulders. But then, if Blaine was Cooper’s world it really wasn’t that far from the truth.

Blaine too looked far older than he had in any picture Wes had ever seen of him before, older than any 13-year-old should ever have to look. Cooper had warned them things had been bad, that they were going to be different and there would be bumps in the road.

But none of that could have prepared Wes for this.

It took the buzzing of his phone to pull Wes’ attention away from the Anderson brothers, and despite the situation, Wes found himself smiling slightly when he saw the name that lit up the screen.

* * *

**MinuteMan:** Wes? Hey, where are you?

 **MinuteMan:** I know you’ve already been through because your stuff is already in our room- although I have no idea how you moved it so fast.

 **Gavel &Me: **I got permission to move in a little early.

 **Gavel &Me: **I’m in choir room right now

 **MinuteMan:** Already?

 **MinuteMan:** I know you take the job of the council serious and all but this is just ridiculous.

 **Gavel &Me: **In case you forgot, we have auditions tonight.

 **Gavel &Me: **I wanted to make sure the room was set up for that

 **MinuteMan:** _nerd_

 **MinuteMan:** also I’m offended you think setting up the choir room is more important than seeing your best friend

 **Gavel &Me: **awww, I missed you too David!!

 **Gavel &Me: **Usually you don’t wind up showing up until midday or something though, so I didn’t think I was going to miss your arrival.

 **MinuteMan:** Mom and Michael drove down with me so we left at a ridiculous time.

 **Gavel &Me: **ah

 **MinuteMan:** Speaking of, she wants to talk to you

 **Gavel &Me: **I’m terrified, what did I do exactly

 **MinuteMan:** I think she’s just a little confused about everything because last year we hated each other and now…  I tried to explain the whole “Queerplatonic Partners” thing to her over the summer

 **Gavel &Me: **w h y

 **MinuteMan:** Wesley you tag me in every photo as “My platonic husband”

 **MinuteMan:** And we text each other “I love you” at least once a conversation

 **Gavel &Me: **because I love you!!

 **MinuteMan:** gross

 **MinuteMan:** love you too. <3

 **Gavel &Me: **<3

 **MinuteMan:** And I’m bi and you have a girlfriend

 **MinuteMan:** So my mom thought you were cheating on Maddie with me and we were dating like romantically because she stalks my social media and likes to read texts over my shoulder

 **MinuteMan:** I had to explain to her that we’re just qpp’s and not dating

 **MinuteMan:** She mostly seemed to get it but she probably has questions for you too.

 **Gavel &Me: **I swear if your mom tells my mom…

 **MinuteMan:** Wesley your parents wouldn’t give a shit

 **Gavel &Me: **No but the rest of my dad’s family would. And if dad finds out he’ll definitely tell them because he doesn’t understand the meaning of the word secret and if my mom finds out she’ll definitely tell my dad because she’ll think it’s exciting and a reason to celebrate

 **MinuteMan:** you really are your mom, aren’t you?

 **Gavel &Me: **stfu

 **MinuteMan:** Will you please just come back to the dorm soon?

 **MinuteMan:** Both to make my mom leave and also so that we can go get lunch which we agreed we were going to do after unpacking.

 **MinuteMan:** I haven’t eaten since like,,, 2 am this morning because I was asleep the last time we stop and I’m s t a r v i n g

 **Gavel &Me: **There should be some granola bars in one of the boxes near my desk if you want to take one of those

 **MinuteMan:** and that’s why I platonically married you

 **Gavel &Me: **Well, you know what I always say:

 **Gavel &Me: **My teeth and ambitions are bared. Be prepared.

 **MinuteMan:** _n e r d_

 **Gavel &Me: **Also shouldn't you be unpacking now, you just got here.

 **MinuteMan:** … you’re going to hate me but

 **Gavel &Me: **I could never hate you

 **MinuteMan:** I kind of sprained my ankle not long before we left meaning I'm not allowed to walk on it, so mom made Michael and his friends come help move in my stuff

 **MinuteMan:** I'm sitting in my bed watching them so like I'm basically just surrounded by boxes with no idea how I’m going to unpack them.

 **Gavel &Me: **YOU SPRAINED YOUR ANKLE??

 **Gavel &Me: **DAVID WHAT THE FUCK WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD PRACTICE YET!!

 **Gavel &Me: **I changed my mind, I do hate you

 **MinuteMan:** I’ll be off my crutches in a few days, and after that it’ll be like two weeks before I’m back to full go

 **MinuteMan:** At least it’s not like I broke it or anything

 **Gavel &Me: **a few WEEKS?!?!?

 **Gavel &Me: **David, you’re are CHOREOGRAPHER are you KIDDING me right now?

 **MinuteMan:** … sorry?

 **MinuteMan:** It wasn’t my fault if that makes it any better.

 **Gavel &Me: **slightly

 **Gavel &Me: **But you’re still not forgiven.

 **MinuteMan:** I'll buy you lunch.

 **MinuteMan:** If you ever come back that is.

 **Gavel &Me: **I would say I'd be there in a minute except there's a bit of a situation going on here.

 **MinuteMan:** Should I be worried?

 **Gavel &Me: **Maybe…

 **MinuteMan:**??

 **Gavel &Me: **I might have technically met Blaine?

 **MinuteMan:** The phrasing of that is not giving me any comfort.

 **Gavel &Me: **It wasn’t meant to.

 **MinuteMan:** Okay so now is the time when I ask for an explanation and you give me one because I’m incredibly concerned.

 **Gavel &Me: **Well, as you know I’ve been in the choir room basically since I arrived getting stuff ready, and Maddie texted me so I was taking a break to talk to her

 **MinuteMan:** You were _just_ with her

 **Gavel &Me: **I miss the people I love when I’m away from them, sue me

 **MinuteMan:** I’m not sure how that would work since we’re married

 **Gavel &Me: **divorce, probably

 **MinuteMan:** mmmh hard pass then

 **Gavel &Me: **mood

 **Gavel &Me: **Anyways, I’m laying on the couch texting Maddie when I hear someone walk in, and obviously I can tell it’s Cooper just by his voice

 **Gavel &Me: **and I’m super curious how tf he got in because the school isn’t even open, and I’m about to ask him when I realize

 **Gavel &Me: **He’s fucking talking about you.

 **MinuteMan:** Oh, plot twist

 **Gavel &Me: **The real plot twist is Cooper actually misses your dumb pumpkin lattes despite the fact he never stopped complaining about them

 **MinuteMan:** I might only be able to make one (1) drink, but I make it exceptionally well

 **Gavel &Me: **mhmm well there was a reason you mostly worked the register

 **MinuteMan:** I thought it was my impeccable people skills

 **Gavel &Me: **No it was definitely because all other coffee you made tasted like actual shit

 **MinuteMan:** fair enough

 **Gavel &Me: **Cooper misses those dumb fucking lattes enough though that he was trying to figure how much he’d have to pay you so you’d make him another one

 **MinuteMan:** hmm depends. If he wins us Regionals this year it would definitely be free of charge. Maybe Sectionals, but that’s pushing it

 **MinuteMan:** Otherwise… ehh $100?

 **Gavel &Me: **That’s exactly the amount I told Coop

 **MinuteMan:** Your stance as my platonic husband holds up, you know me well

 **Gavel &Me: **naturally

 **Gavel &Me: **I was still laying on the couch so I wasn’t visible from the door

 **Gavel &Me: **and I don’t know if it was that or the fact I was just there at all, but something about the whole situation scared Blaine

 **Gavel &Me: **like ‘cause him to have a panic attack’ scared

 **MinuteMan:** fuck

 **Gavel &Me: **yeah

 **MinuteMan:** Is he okay? What happened?

 **Gavel &Me:** I doubt he’s really okay just from the pure fact it’s hard to be okay after a panic attack

 **Gavel &Me: **But Cooper seems to have done a good job calming him down.

 **Gavel &Me: **This clearly hasn’t been the first time that Coop’s done this, it’s almost like he’s got it down to science

 **MinuteMan:** Cooper? Cooper did a good job of calming Blaine down?

 **MinuteMan:** Since when the fuck did he learn how to do that?

 **Gavel &Me: **My guess? When Blaine needed him to.

 **MinuteMan:** fair point

 **Gavel &Me: **I’m worried about them, David.

 **MinuteMan:** Blaine?

 **Gavel &Me: **Yeah. And Cooper.

 **Gavel &Me: **We knew this summer was hard for them but I don’t think…

 **Gavel &Me: **It’s a lot more real seeing it in person.

 **Gavel &Me: **And it makes me worried

 **MinuteMan:** Hey, it’s going to be okay Wesley.

 **MinuteMan:** We’re going to get them through this. Marauders never leave one of their own behind.

 **MinuteMan:** Cooper’s one of our own, and I think all of us, Warblers included, agreed the night he got that phone call Blaine was one of ours too.

 **Gavel &Me: **We should discuss that at tonight’s meeting then.

 **Gavel &Me: **After auditions. What we’re going to do to help both of them.

 **MinuteMan:** We can also talk to the other Marauders, especially the twins, beforehand

 **MinuteMan:** I have a feeling they’ve already planned on adopting Blaine into the group but it’s hard to know for sure with those two

 **Gavel &Me: **mhhm good point

 **Gavel &Me: **I’ll be up soon, okay? Cooper’s motioning for me to come over so I have to go, but I don’t think we’ll talk for too long.

 **Gavel &Me: **From what I can see B looks pretty exhausted and I don’t think they’ve even moved in yet.

 **MinuteMan:** Take your time.

 **MinuteMan:** And let Coop know we’re here for him if he needs us.

 **Gavel &Me: **I will.

 **Gavel &Me: **love you

 **MinuteMan:** love you too.

* * *

Wes made sure to stand up slowly so not to scare Blaine again by moving too quickly, and tried his best not to seem threatening as he walked towards the brothers on the couch. Cooper smiled tiredly at Wes as he got closer, speaking to Blaine in the same soft voice as before as he introduced

“Blainey, this is one of my friends, Wes. He leads the Warblers council. He sent you a card and some chocolate while you were in the hospital, remember? And the Katy Perry cd you haven’t stopped listening to.”

Blaine glanced up at Wes quickly, worrying his lip between his lips as he thought before nodding in confirmation. He remembered Wes vividly in fact because of that cd. Not only did Wes manage to get it two weeks before it came out to the public, but it was also signed by Katy Perry herself. If it wasn’t for the anxiety bubbling in his chest and the lump in his throat making it impossible to speak, he would be jumping up and down thanking the boy for one of his most treasured gifts.

Four months ago he would have been able to. Now even looking at Wes for more than a few seconds at a time seemed an impossible task.

Wes didn’t seem to mind the lack of response though. If anything he seemed to have expected it, and when Blaine looked at him again he smiled reassuringly “I’m really glad you enjoy it, Blaine. I’m not a big Katy Perry fan, but my father knows some people who helped produce her album and so when they sent us the cd I knew it would be better off going to someone who would appreciate it over gather dust on some shelf in our house.”

“Thank you, Wes, really. From both of us. It means a lot.” Cooper said sincerely, knowing exactly what his brother wished he was able to do without even having to look at him. “Blaine loves the album. He’s probably got the whole thing memorized from the number of times he’s listened to and I probably do too,”

Cooper chuckled quietly at his joke as did Wes. “Better stuck in your head than mine.”

There was a beat of silence before Wes turned towards Blaine, and added “By the way Blaine, I’m sorry for startling you earlier. I spoke without really thinking about the consequences because I was too busy texting my girlfriend. I can get pretty narrowed focused when we talk.”

Blaine’s eyes widened in shock as Wes apologized to him, not quite able to believe what he was hearing. No one had ever… well no one besides Cooper that is had ever apologized for startling him. Even his dad had said he needed to stop being so dramatic whenever he cause Blaine to have a panic attack, especially ever since Sadie Hawkins.

And yet someone he had never met before, who hadn’t even meant to scare him in the first place unlike some people, _he_ was apologizing instead of just blaming Blaine.

A sad smile crossed Cooper’s face when he noticed Blaine’s shock, and quietly he said to Wes “Thank you, Wes. Really.”

“Of course,” Wes nodded, glancing down at his phone as it buzzed in his hand with a text from David complaining about his brother. “... Hey Cooper, you wouldn’t by chance need any help unpacking your car would you?”

Cooper eyed Wes’ suspiciously, knowing from his tone alone something was up. “What exactly are you thinking?”

“Our dear David seems to have a bit of a pest problem in our room. One that includes several rambunctious teenagers who no doubt were the cause of him spraining his ankle just hours before returning to school.” Wes explained smirking. “David wants to be rid of them and I think they deserve a little punishment for sidelining our choreographer, don’t you?”

Cooper laughed, a spark of mischief returning to his eyes after months of being absent, and for a moment he almost looked the same as he had before everything fell apart. “You’re right Wes. They definitely deserve a little punishment for that.”

* * *

“Well, what do you think?” Cooper asked, turning to look at Blaine after setting down the box he was carrying. Blaine was standing by the doorway as he had since he walked into the room, only making it a few steps before he froze, and he was now staring around the room in amazement.

It was bigger than his bedroom at home, though that was to expected considering it was meant for two people, with two full sized beds against opposite walls and two desks underneath the windows in the middle. It was the wide open space between the two beds that really made the size of the room seem bigger, as well as the light blue color of the walls.

And the best part of all was that it was all Blaine’s. They had made sure of that just last week, after Blaine’s therapist had recommended that it would it most likely help him to adjust easier to Dalton and get used to being back in a school after such a long absence. It had taken some time for Cooper to persuade Dean Windsor to make it happen when Dalton already had hardly enough room for students as it was, but eventually, they managed to work it out.

And Blaine was so grateful they had because after his encounter with Wes he wasn’t sure if he could handle having to meet another stranger just then, especially not one he wouldn’t be able to escape from.

“I love it,” Blaine said quietly after a moment, forcing the words out despite the anxiety that was clinging to every part of his body making it hard to think, let alone speak. They were alone though, and it was safe, and the rational part of Blaine’s brain knew this which is why he decided to speak at all. “Th-Thank you, Coop. I know-ow it wasn’t easy to get-t me th-this.”

Cooper smiled gently, crossing the room so he was standing in front of Blaine before opening his arms to offer up a hug. Blaine stepped forward, relaxing just slightly as Cooper wrapped his arms around him, providing a feeling of safety and of home that helped to take the edge off of his anxiety.

“If it makes you feel comfortable than it’s worth it. But if it makes you feel better, it really wasn’t all that much trouble. Turns out it helps to know the Dean so well.”

“Not in the good way though,” Wes butted in, making sure this time he had made eye contact with Blaine before he spoke so as not to scare the younger boy. “I don’t know if your brother has informed you or not B, but he’s known as one of the biggest menaces on campus.”

“Hey you’re part of the Marauders too, Wes, I don’t want to hear it,” Cooper replied, breaking his hug with Blaine to properly turn and look at Wes, along with the troop of boys he had brought with him. “You collected the troublemakers for their punishment?”

Wes nodded. “I have to go back upstairs to be interrogated by Mrs. Thompson, do you think you can handle these boys on your own?”

Cooper rolled his eyes at Wes’ question, replying “Compared to what I handle on a normal day I’m more than sure these guys will be just fine.”

“Fair point. Good luck Cooper. And welcome to Dalton, Blaine! If the boys get out of line, feel free to punch them,” Wes grinned, waving goodbye to the others before disappearing down the hallway, leaving David’s brother Michael and his friends in his wake.

Cooper looked down at Blaine who was eyeing the boys apprehensively, squeezing his brother's shoulder comfortingly before he said: “Alright boys, why don’t we go get Blaine’s stuff from the car so he can get his dorm setup?”

“Squirt, are you going to be okay if I leave you alone while we move your stuff?”

Blaine hesitated only a moment before nodding his head, looking around the room once more and coming to the conclusion he was at least relatively safe even on his own. He could handle a few minutes, especially if he had something like unpacking to distract him.

“Then let’s get down to business.”

* * *

Before Cooper left to move in his own stuff, he dug out of Blaine’s boxes the docking station for his brother’s iPod, plugging it in near his bed and pressing shuffle on his Disney playlist despite Blaine’s protests that he really didn’t need to do that at all, that he was fine in the silence.

“Blaine, you and I both know that you _hate_ the silence. You always have.” Cooper said, puzzled, raising an eyebrow at his brother. Blaine shrugged, shifting uncomfortably under Cooper’s gaze. The last thing he wanted was to have to tell Cooper he didn’t want his music on because he was too afraid he’d be tempted to sing. All it would do would bring a million question he couldn’t answer and an unnecessary amount of extra concern on his behalf.

Eventually, Cooper gave up trying to get an answer from Blaine, conceding that at least for now he wasn’t going to get an explanation, although maybe if he pressed the subject later he could B to open up.

“I’ll be back in a bit to check on you, alright Squirt? If you need anything you can text me, or you can ask your Prefect any questions you might have. He’s a really nice guy, part of the Warblers, the art club, right now he’s baking cookies out in the kitchen with his brother and his boyfriend. If you need anything, you can ask him and he’ll help you out. Especially if you tell him you’re my little brother.”

Blaine nodded along as Cooper spoke, even having already decided he would never in a million years be able to ask a stranger for help, he filed the information away for later on the off chance he ever did have to use it. Cooper smiled, ruffling Blaine’s hair fondly before he pressed play on his iPod.

“Try to relax, okay? This is your room now Blaine. It’s your safe space.” Cooper paused at the door to give Blaine one last chance to protest him leaving, a small part of him hoping that he would hear his voice call asking him to stay. The much larger part of him was happy though when Blaine started unpacking again, and hardly seemed to care at all his brother was leaving.

Three months ago Blaine refused to let Cooper out of his sight even in the safety of their own home. The fact he didn’t blink twice about his brother being gone for an extended period of time in strange new place spoke volumes to how far he had come.

Even if this morning proved that he still had a long way left to go.

* * *

One of Jeff’s more… troublesome traits, and one of the ones that caused Nick the most exasperation in their friendship was that very often Jeff found himself distracted by every little thing around. He would wander off after something he saw, change subjects in the middle of a sentence because he thought of something, and if he saw a dog he was gone until he either got to pet it or it was out of sight. Sometimes Nick felt like he needed to keep him on a leash just so he didn’t get lost.

It wasn’t surprising, then, to Nick when he arrived in their room with his final load of boxes only to find that Jeff was no longer behind him like he had been moments earlier. After all, “Wouldn’t be Jeff if he didn’t get distracted before we even got settled in,” Nick sighed to himself, setting down what he was holding before exiting the room ready to trace his steps until he found his best friend.

It didn’t take long, thankfully, considering Jeff was standing mere feet away outside of the door of another student, listening intently to whatever was going on inside.

_“But somehow, I will show the world What's inside my heart. And be loved for who I am”_

As he got closer, Nick could hear the sound of someone singing inside of the room, and if the wide-eyed look on Jeff’s face meant anything, that was what caught his attention in the first place.

_“Why is my reflection someone I don't know? Must I pretend that I'm, someone else, For all time?”_

"He's amazing," Jeff whispered when Nick got close enough, his eyes wide in a mix of amazement and jealousy as he listened. “I wish I had a voice like his.”

_“There's a heart that must be free to fly. That burns with a need to know the reason why, Why must we all conceal. What we think, how we feel?”_

Nick felt a pang of sadness at Jeff’s tone, and before he could stop himself he was saying “You have a beautiful voice, blondie. And the most amazing dance moves I’ve ever seen.”

“Aww, Nicky!” Jeff cooed, a bright smile lighting up his face that only grew when he noticed how red Nick’s face had gotten. “Thank you!”

“Shut up,” Nick mumbled, shoving Jeff lightly before he turned around and headed back to their dorm, confident this time that Jeff was following him despite the fact he hadn’t turned around to check.

“Do you think our neighbor will join the Warblers?” Jeff asked as he practically bounced into the room, the smile still on his face despite Nick’s response and appeared grumpiness. “Because I really really want to be friends with him and if he joined the Warblers it would be a great excuse.”

“I’m sure you’ll find an excuse to be his friend whether he joins the Warblers or not,” Nick replied, rolling his eyes fondly at Jeff’s excitement, opening the first box he saw with the intent to start unpacking as he added “But I would say there’s a fair chance he’ll join considering his voice and his clear love for singing.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see at auditions tonight,” Jeff concluded, walking up behind Nick and resting his head on the shorter boy’s shoulder before asking curiously “Whatcha up to?”

Nick sighed heavily in an attempt to cover up the fact he was once again starting to turn red, stepping away from Jeff before responding “I’m unpacking. Just like you should be.”

“But that’s no fun,” Jeff whined, falling face first on Nick’s bed dramatically. “I don’t wanna unpack.”

"If we unpack I'll order pizza." Nick bribed, laughing as Jeff quickly shot up, his eyes sparkling with the excitement like Nick had just promised him the greatest gift in the world. "And we can order dessert with it."

That was all it took to get Jeff scrambling off his bed, throwing open the first box he saw and pulling out the speaker on top and grinning, rushing to plug it in by his desk. "If we play music maybe our neighbor will come to investigate us like we did him.”

Nick shook his head but said nothing as Jeff plugged in his iPod, and a second later classical music was filling the room and Jeff was dancing, moving in perfect time to the music as he opened a suitcase and started to unpack his clothes.

Nick watched from the doorway of the bathroom, his heart clenching slightly as he watched his best friend move so gracefully, so effortlessly around the room, in a world where nothing but the music and him existed. The dancing was beautiful, and more importantly, so was the boy doing it.

Nick pushed away from the wall as Jeff turned back to face, beckoning with one finger for the man to join him in the center of the room. And as Jeff led him through the more elaborate part of the song Nick couldn't help but laugh, mostly at himself because he kept stepping on Jeff's toes and couldn't keep up, and eventually Jeff shoved him away, though not in a mean way. He had a coy and teasing look on his face as he chased Nick backward until he hit the edge of his bed and fell onto it suddenly.

Jeff danced away again, but Nick didn't bother to get up. Just propped his head up on his arms and watched as Jeff made it to the opposite side of the room, swaying his hips as he moved. The song changed, and Jeff began doing a much more ridiculous dance to the beat, still managing to look ridiculously good while doing so.

Nick groaned, rolling off the opposite side of the bed and trying his best to pointedly ignore his best friend and his damn good looks and brilliant moves. He was hardly successful, kept stealing glances every few seconds. When Jeff caught him looking once he smirked, sending Nick a wink that he swore should be illegal.

Nick felt his knees go weak and Jeff smirked more, blowing the boy a kiss before turning away, laughing lightly because goddammit he knew exactly what he was doing. As is to prove his point Jeff rolled his hips, and Nick had to grab the wall to keep from falling to the floor when his knees suddenly  went weak beneath him

It was times like this that Nick was pretty sure his best friend was from the depths of hell itself sent specifically here to torture him.

* * *

By the time he finished unpacking, Blaine was exhausted. Arranging everything the way he wanted had taken longer than he had expected, and between the high anxiety and panic attacks of that morning and a severe lack of sleep the night before, he was complete and utterly drained. Cooper had texted him not too long ago that it might be a while until he got back because something came up (he wouldn’t specify _what_ that something was, but his tone suggested it wasn’t anything good). But it meant that Blaine was going to be on his own for who knows how long until Cooper got free.

It doesn’t take much for Blaine to decide the best use of that time would be for him to take a nap. He turned the volume down on his music until it was just loud enough for him to hear, and after making sure his phone was on vibrate, Blaine climbed into bed and let himself slip into a well-deserved nap.

* * *

Blaine was still asleep when Cooper came back to check on him and see if he wanted to get some lunch or if he would rather Coop bring him something back. The fact B didn’t so much as flinch when Cooper came into the room meant he was sleeping good, something he rarely did anymore, had Cooper making the decision for him. He left a note beside Blaine’s bed in case he woke up explaining where he had gone, and then Cooper slipped back out of the room, leaving his brother to his nap.

_Hey Squirt,_

_I stopped by to see if you wanted to get lunch, but you were snoring too hard to hear me (I’m kidding. Mostly)._

_I didn’t want to wake you up because I know you didn’t sleep much last night (I heard you taking a shower at 3 am. You’re not as sneaky as you think). I figured I’ll just bring you back something from wherever we wind up heading (By we I mean Wes, David, and Evan. Evan says Hi by the way, and that he’s glad his gift has been of use to you and you haven’t resorted to punching walls again)._

_If you wake up and need anything before we get back you can always text me. I promise we’ll try not to stay gone too long._

_Have a good nap._

_\- Coop_

Blaine didn't even notice the note.

He was still asleep when Cooper came back, so he left the food he brought back on Blaine’s desk with another note attached, this one holding messages from Wes, David, and Evan, all who insisted of following Cooper back to check on Blaine. Even the noise of two extra pair of footsteps (Wes was carrying David on his back instead of having him hobble along on his crutches), Blaine hardly stirred, and Cooper was quick to usher his friends back out of the room as soon as he could so the boy could continue sleeping for as long as possible.

_Blainey,_

_I can’t believe you’re still asleep. It’s almost 2 now, but as far as I can tell you haven’t moved since I checked earlier, haven’t had any nightmares either which must be a testament to just how exhausted you are._

_I got you some food that hopefully won’t taste too bad if it goes a little cold. You could always use the microwave in the kitchen to heat it up whenever you wake up, but it should be okay if you don’t._

_I have Warbler practice tonight starting at 4:30. It’ll probably run a few hours, we’re holding auditions for any members that want to join which tends to take a while. I’ll be up in my room until then if you need anything, it’s on the third floor of the same building as you so it shouldn’t be too hard to find if you want to come looking._

_Text me when you wake up so I know you’re okay._

_I love you._

_\- Coop_

_P.S:_

_Feel free to stop by the Warbler meeting if you want, we would love to have you. - Wes_

_You don’t have to audition. You can just sit and watch and help us judge the talent. It’ll be fun! - David_

_You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. We understand either way. But the entire council is in agreement so it won’t be a problem if you do decide to come. - Evan_

* * *

It was the sound of his phone buzzing on his bedside table that finally woke Blaine up, hours after he had first fallen asleep. Without opening his eyes he reached out for his phone, fumbling for several seconds before he finally managed to grab it. It only occurred to him after he was blinking at the bright but blurry screen that he wasn’t quite able to make out the text message without his glasses, no matter how hard he squinted.

Finally, he gave in, rolling over on his stomach he opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out his glasses, putting them on before he attempted a second time to read his text message

 **CoopellaDeVil:** idk if you’re just ignoring me or if you’re still asleep, but either way if you could text me whenever you see this I would appreciate it

 **CoopellaDeVil:** …

 **CoopellaDeVil:** You know you have read receipts on, right? I can tell you’re ignoring me

 **RedVines:** I had to get my glasses, I just woke up!!!

 **RedVines:** I’m not ignoring you!

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Blainey, I’m teasing you it’s okay.

 **RedVines:** … you’re the worst brother ever

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I left you food on your desk

 **RedVines:** You’re the best big brother

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Well I knew if I didn’t bring you food you would just wind up eating candy for dinner.

 **RedVines:** Hey red vines are a perfectly acceptable food choice

 **CoopellaDeVil:** … no

 **RedVines:** Aren’t you at Warbler practice? Shouldn’t you be paying attention to auditions?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I would be except the fact we haven’t even started yet

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Wes is stressed about making sure auditions go right, and some of the boys aren’t exactly helping things go any smoother if you catch my drift

 **CoopellaDeVil:** He’s already gone power crazy using his gavel in an attempt to maintain order

 **CoopellaDeVil:** There have been some talks about finding a way to secure said gavel and burn it

 **RedVines:** Or you could just behave?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** …

 **CoopellaDeVil:** You’ll understand when you meet the twins why that just isn’t an option

 **RedVines:** are you sure I want to meet them, Coop?

 **RedVines:** Maybe I should just avoid them altogether

 **RedVines:** I don’t know if I can…

 **RedVines:** I already embarrassed myself in front of one of your friends, I don’t want to do the same thing with the others

 **RedVines:** Besides, from what you’ve told me about them I’m nothing like them, I don’t fit in, I can’t even talk half the time anymore, let alone keep up with…

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Blaine

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Breath.

 **RedVines:** I can’t

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Yes you can, you just need to focus

 **RedVines:** No I can’t Cooper

 **RedVines:** I can’t, I can’t do this.

 **CoopellaDeVil:** can’t do what?

 **RedVines:** meet your friends

 **RedVines:** go to school

 **RedVines:** be around people and pretend everything is okay

 **RedVines:** I can’t do it, i can’t i can’t i can’t

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Yes you can B, I promise you you can.

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Listen, I’m going to call you and I want you to answer the phone for me, okay?

 **RedVines:** okay

 **RedVines:** i’m sorry Coop

 **CoopellaDeVil:** it’s okay Blainey.

 **CoopellaDeVil:** everything is going to be okay

* * *

They were just about to start auditions when Wes happened to lock eyes with Cooper, and it only took one look at the worried look on his face for Wes to mouth at him “Go.” That was all the prompting Cooper needed to take off from the choir room, setting a buzz off through the room as every Warbler tried to figure out what had just happened.

Several eyes were turned towards the council table wondering if any of the members could provide answers. Wes stared at the door through which Cooper had disappeared for several seconds, a small frown on his face as he thought back to this morning, and to everything they knew about Blaine.

“Wes?” David said soft enough the others couldn’t hear, reaching out to place a gentle hand on Wes’ arm, waiting until his best friend turned to face him before asking “This is about Blaine, isn’t it?”

Wes nodded slowly, his eyes searching David for an answer to the unasked question of what they were supposed to do next. They wanted to bring up helping Blaine to the others, but what would helping him even mean? How much good could they actually do if they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing?

The only idea all three of the councilmen had come up in even an attempt to help Blaine was a long shot of being agreed upon by the entire room. It would require them to break Warbler code, to break tradition, and to go against the very rules each one of them had agreed to when they first got accepted.

But they had to do something for Blaine. And this was all that they had.

Wes and David turned at the same time to look at Evan, to see what he thought their best plan of action going forward was. They had expected some amount of hesitation, for him to take the time to weigh his options carefully the way that he always did. Instead, he replied immediately “We have to at least try.”

“Yeah,” Wes agreed, looking to David to confirm he was on the same page. David nodded, and Wes turned to address the rest of the Warblers, banging his gavel twice to call order and waiting until silence fell before he started speaking “Warblers. Before we get to auditions there is something very important that your council would like to bring up to you. What we are proposing is something that is most likely going to upset several of you, and we are open to discussion upon the topic, however, it is the only current solution we have come up with on the topic so we implore you to please stay open-minded and hear us out.”

“Not a word of what we talk about tonight is to leave this room. If there is one whisper of it in the hallways, one note passed in class, a single sign, those involved will be kicked from the Warblers and the case brought in front of the student council for further punishment as they see fit.” Evan added in an even tone, looking around the room slowly as he reminded the group “Spreading rumors or private information is strictly forbidden on campus. It may not be grounds for immediate expulsion as other forms of harassment and bullying might be, but it is grounds for a hearing, and while the council believes in giving second chances, they are less lenient when it comes to third or fourth chances. Most of you are already on your second chance due to the events of last year, I would suggest you don’t push your luck again this year.”

If the room wasn’t silent before then it certainly was when Evan finished speaking, his words causing several of the boys to shift uncomfortably and more then one set of eyes glanced guiltily towards the twins who straightened their backs under the looks but otherwise showed no sign of noticing. Considering how hard they had all worked at forgetting what happened, their reaction made perfect sense.

After several tense seconds of silence, David cleared his throat, and asked the room “Does everyone here agree and find the council’s proposal reasonable?”

A murmur of agreement spread through the Warblers, but before Wes could call order again and move on, a single hand flew into the air.

“Warbler Charlie?”

“Is Julius considered included as inside of this room? Even though he isn’t technically a Warbler, he is a Marauder and if this is about Cooper then, wouldn’t that qualify him to be involved?” Charlie asked, and immediately a new kind of buzz was filling the room, as the Warblers switched into their “teasing Chalius” mode.

Even Wes was smirking as he hit his gavel to call things back to order, and responded to Charlie “Considering the circumstances, and the fact we all know you can’t keep a secret from Julius regardless, in this case…  Yes, our piano man does get a pass to know what we decide in tonight's meeting.”

The Warblers laughed collectively at Wes’ teasing and Charlie’s eye roll in response, but they quickly fell silent again when Wes schooled his face into something more serious. All traces of humor faded from the room, and all that was left was a tense concern into which Wes began to speak

“We all know that the one thing Warbler Cooper loves more than anything else in this world is his baby brother. We have all heard him brag about Blaine’s achievements, heard a thousand stories from their childhood, how it’s always been just the two of them against the world.”

“And we were all here that night he got the phone call telling him that his baby brother had just been gay bashed outside of his school dance,” David shook his head, unable to keep his voice from cracking as he spoke. “I don’t think any of us will ever be able to forget what it was like to see Cooper’s entire world shatter in a matter of seconds. He was a wreck.”

“He’s still a wreck,” Evan put in quietly, speaking both as Cooper’s best friend and as the only one who had seen him in the weeks following the attack, who had had the most contact with him since it happened. “He tries not to show it, but Cooper hasn’t exhaled since the moment he got that phone call. Every minute of his life is spent worrying about Blaine, helping him to learn to cope with things he never had to deal with before. His sole focus at any given moment is only on how Blaine is doing, and what he can do to make him feel better.”

“As you are all aware, the Warblers have always considered themselves a scared brotherhood that takes care of their own and does everything in their power to help when one of its members is in distress,” There was scattered nodding across the room at Wes’ words, as well as few exchanged looks among those who had been helped the most by the Warbler code. “Cooper is not only one of our own, but he is one who has strived for a long time to take care of each and every one of us however he could.”

“If you’re in distress, Cooper’s always been the person to call on,” David added, and Wes nodded his head in agreement, continuing

“Which is why the council is proposing a motion that we hope will at least start to help Cooper as much as he has helped us. And because the best way to help Cooper is to help Blaine, it involves the younger Anderson as well.”

“Most of you might not remember Cooper when he first came to Dalton, but for those of us who were here during those first months remember just how bad things were for him,” Evan started to explain, and in the back of the room one of the eldest members of the room laughed, butting in

“Bad is an understatement Evan, the dude was a fucking rage machine.”

“He had a few issues he needed to work through,” Evan conceded, a smile briefly crossing his face at thought of Cooper when he first arrived at Dalton. Things were… well let’s just say in the history of Dalton, the student council had never given a student as many chances as they had to Cooper in a matter of months. “But it was the Warblers who helped Cooper pull things together and gave him something at Dalton worth staying for.”

“… Are you three proposing what we think you’re proposing?” Josh interrupted, eyes wide with disbelief as he looked between the three councilmen, waiting for one of them to say something to prove him wrong. James was staring at them in an equal amount of shock, which rang through in his voice as he whispered

“You want to Cooper to bring Blaine with him to practice.”

A collective gasp sounded from the rest of the Warblers at James’ words, and all it took was Wes’ starting to speak in confirmation to send the room into chaos “We know it’s unorthodox but-”

The outcry was immediate as every one of the Warblers began to shout over each other before Wes could even begin to explain their decision, protesting angrily of “treason” and “anarchy” on part of the council. Some began shouting about how “Warbler practices are scared meetings!” and “Why don’t we just invite the whole school to watch us!”, “This is a kangaroo court!”

The number of times and the force with which Wes had to bang his gavel to draw order of the group once more left both Evan and David cringing away and covering their ears to the noise. Discontent grumbling was still passing through the crowd of Warblers, and Wes raised his voice in order to speak over it and say again

“We realize Warblers that what we are asking of you is completely unorthodox and it goes against the rules and traditions that this group has always upheld. But the three of us have talked extensively, and we’ve agreed that we cannot think of another way to help Blaine feel safe and comfortable and like Dalton is a place where he belongs.”

“How is having him at meetings supposed to help with that?” Mason asked out of genuine curiosity, setting the Warblers off buzzing at his question. Evan rolled his eyes at the ease at which the boys could be set off but explained anyways to the group

“Right now, Blaine is terrified of everything and everyone in this school. What he’s been through with Sadie Hawkins has made it incredibly hard for him to trust anywhere as safe. But if Cooper brought him along to practices, and he got to see the Warblers in action and spend time around us without being forced to interact-”

“We’re hoping he’ll become comfortable more quickly both around us and at Dalton in general and realize there’s nothing here to be afraid of.” David finished, and again one of the older Warbler’s snorted, adding

“Nothing except for the wrath of the Marauders, right?”

The twins smiled proudly at that comment and David rolled his eyes fondly at the pair before he corrected “Actually Blaine’s already been unofficially adopted into the Marauders so the only thing he was to worry about is getting in trouble with Dean Windsor.”

Several of the boys “oohed” loudly, and one of them declared “That’s even worse!”

“Don’t worry though, Evan here is a Prefect this year so the Marauders won’t be getting into too much trouble,” Wes smirked, nudging the eldest councilmen in the side good-naturedly as a ripple of laughter spread across the Warblers. Unamused Evan pushed Wes away and pointedly suggested

“Perhaps we should hold the vote now so we can start auditions.”

“All those in favor of letting Blaine Anderson attend Warbler meetings?” Wes asked, raising his own hand alongside that of every single member in the room. Even those who had protested the loudest seemed to have come around after a little thought, although it was possible that at least for some of the boys the protest was merely a formality that had to accompany any sort of change the boys tried to make.

Smiling, Wes gave his gavel a single strike on the desk. “It’s decided then. One of us will inform Cooper before the next meeting of our decision, and from there it will be up to Blaine to choose if or when he feels ready to join us. Until then, I think it’s time we start auditions.”

“Will someone please let the first student know we’re ready for them?” Evan asked, and before any of the boys closest to the door even had a chance to move Charlie was up and running over to it, excitement shining in his eyes as he stuck his head out and motioned for someone to come in.

The curious murmurings of the others fell silent as soon as Charlie appeared back in the room, with someone very familiar standing at his side.

“Julius?” Wes questioned, blinking at the boy like he wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing was real. All of last year their piano man had refused to officially audition no matter how many times the others tried to convince him to. “What are you doing here?”

“Charlie uh… he made a good point this summer that I should… Since you already call me your piano man… I thought maybe it was time to make things official and at least audition,” Julius explained, shifting from foot to foot a mixture of anxious and embarrassed, his cheeks a light shade of pink. “It was mostly Charlie’s idea, something about how being involved looks good for college…”

“It does, Juls! You practically live with the Warblers anyways so you might as well get something out of it too,” A few of the boys chuckled at Charlie’s statement, and even more as the boy grabbed Julius’ arm and dragged him over towards the piano, sitting beside him on the seat before flashing a grin at others “You’re going to love his audition song.”

“You can start whenever you’re ready, Julius,” Wes said, and Julius nodded, closing his eyes and taking a few steady breaths before he rested his hands over the keys. And when he opened his eyes, he started to play

From the first notes, the Warblers were swaying along, sharing amused grins and quiet laughter at the song choice, though they fell silent as Julius began to sing

_“Sing us a song, you're the piano man. Sing us a song tonight. Well, we're all in the mood for a melody. And you've got us feelin' alright”_

* * *

Nick _knew_ that he shouldn’t spy on Jeff during his audition, but in his defense he didn’t even realize he was inching closer to the door until he caught sight of Jeff through the ajar door, dancing to the routine he had practiced for weeks

_“Feel the rain on your skin. No one else can feel it for you. Only you can let it in. No one else, no one else, Can speak the words on your lips”_

He had heard the song a thousand times over the summer, seen Jeff perform this exact number until it was perfect, but still it Nick couldn’t tear his eyes away even as a few of the other auditionees hissed at him to back up before he got caught. It wasn’t his fault Jeff’s dancing was so memorizing

_“I break tradition. Sometimes my tries, are outside the lines. We've been conditioned to not make mistakes. But I can't live that way, no”_

And his voice. Really everything about Jeff was memorizing when it came down to it, from his bright smiles to his bouncy attitude. Memorizing and addicting, Jeff was someone people always wanted to be around, always wanted more time with, and when he walked into the room people noticed.  

_“Live your life with arms wide open. Today is where your book begins. The rest is still unwritten”_

Or at least Nick always noticed. But maybe that had less to do with Jeff and more to do with his crush.

_“Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. Reaching for something in the distance. So close you can almost taste it. Release your inhibitions”_

Sometimes he had a hard time telling the difference between the two. It didn’t help when Jeff did things like catch Nick’s eye in the middle of his performance and not miss a beat in sending him a wink before doing a flip that most definitely hadn’t been part of practice and was just Jeff showing off, though whether for the Warblers or for Nick himself he couldn’t tell.

 _“The rest is still unwritten. The rest is still unwritten.”_   
  
The Warblers applauded as Jeff finished singing, and the grin on his face grew even wider at the sound, which caused a few of the boys to chuckle good-naturedly. Wes was smirking himself as he spoke up

“Thank you for that wonderful performance, Jeff. You clearly have a lot of dance experience, which I’m sure will come in handy if you get in. Especially considering our resident choreographer is down for the count,” Wes directed the end of his sentence towards David, who smiled sheepishly and mumbled a quiet

“Sorry” before he pressed a kiss to Wes’ cheek. Which was enough to soften the boy’s anger at least for the moment.

“I would suggest, Jeff, that you try to focus a little more on tuning your vocals. They’re good right now, especially considering the amount of dancing that you did, but I have a feeling you could be better if you spent some more time on it.

Jeff nodded his head in agreement, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he rushed to explain “I know I still have a ways to go, I only really started singing about a year ago to surprise my best friend because otherwise, we wouldn’t have any classes together. He’s been helping out a lot with getting better, and I’m sure he’s willing to help me out even more.

"Is that who's been spying by the door over there?" Wes asked, nodding over to where Nick stood. Jeff nodded still grinning, and practically skipped over to the door to drag a blushing Nick into the room.

"This is my best friend in the entire world, Nick Duval. His dance moves kind of suck but I've been working on them with him, and his voice is incredible." Jeff said proudly, throwing an arm over Nick's shoulder. "He wasn't going to audition, but we both know he would regret it if he didn’t take the chance so here we are.”

“And you’re on board with this idea, Nick?” Wes asked, eyeing the shorter boy carefully because at first glance it seemed like he most certainly definitely was not.

Nick swallowed thickly, about to explain that no he wasn’t on board with this at all, Jeff was insane. But then he turned his head just slightly and caught sight of Jeff’s puppy eyes begging him to just try it. “Yes. I am.”

Jeff squealed happily, squeezing Nick in a quick side hug and whispering a quiet “Good luck!!” before walking out of the room, pausing at the door so he could watch Nick and give him any support from the sidelines he needed.

“Whenever you’re ready then,” Wes said, smiling reassuringly at Nick, who returned it with his own shaky head nod. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then he started to sing,

_“I used to rule the world. Seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning I sleep alone. Sweep the streets I used to own.”_

* * *

_"For some reason I can't explain, I know Saint Peter won't call my name. Never an honest word. But that was when I ruled the world.”_

Applause filled the room as Nick finished singing, his arms dropping back down to his side. Despite his initial anxiety in the beginning, he had quickly lost himself in the music and even wound up trying a few of the simpler dance moves Jeff had been attempting to teach him ever since they first met. Overall, he actually thought he hadn’t done too bad. Certainly better than he had expected given the fact he hadn’t practiced hardly at all.

“Well, Jeff wasn’t lying to us when he said you could sing now could he?” Wes teased, chuckling lightly as Nick started to blush again, bowing his head slightly at the praise. “Your dancing could certainly use some work, but I imagine Jeff would be as willing to help you out with that as you are to help him with his singing?”

“He’s been trying ever since we met. Dancing isn’t exactly my forte.” Nick admitted, blushing a little more. “I kind of have two left feet.”

"Don’t worry, so do most of the boys here. The Warblers are good at adapting to a wide range of skill sets,” David replied, eyeing Wes who only smiled coyly responding

“Well there was a reason I married you.”

David gasped offendedly at the accusation, but before he could argue Evan was cutting in, speaking to Nick “The sheet will be up tomorrow evening with the name of the students who got in. Outside of this room.”

"Thank you," Nick said, nodding his head curtly at Evan before he turned and walked from the room, grabbing Jeff’s arm as he passed him. They walked across the covered pathway back into the main hall, and once they were finally out of sight Nick let go of Jeff’s arm in favor of grabbing his ear, by which he drug him along the rest of the way despite Jeff’s protests

"Ow ow, Nicky what was that for?" Jeff whined, rubbing his ear when Nick finally let go inside of their dorm room. Nick didn't answer, just walked over to his side and started angrily grabbing the things he needed for a shower. "Is this because I made you audition? Because you killed it, Nick, seriously your voice was amazing."

"This isn't about my voice," Nick said finally, slamming his clothes down on his bed, rounding it quickly, walking quickly towards Jeff and poking him hard in the chest. "This is about you not respecting my wishes. I told you I didn't want to join, I told you every day this summer that I wasn't going to audition. You promised me you weren't going to push me."

"Nicky, I know you were nervous but was just trying..." Jeff started, trying to calm down his best friend who had stepped back a few paces when he finished talking. But as soon as Jeff started to speak he whirled around, anger written on his face.

"Don't you dare say you were doing what's best for me," Nick growled, glaring harshly at Jeff and the blonde boy shrunk back under his gaze, shocked. "If you were trying to do what was best for me then you would have left it alone."

"I just wanted to help," Jeff replied quietly, hurt flashing across his face as he took a few more steps away from Nick, his head hung low. "You're always happiest when you're singing and I thought joining the Warblers would make you happier. I'm sorry."

"Jeffy," Nick said softly, the anger flooding out of him as he saw the kicked-puppy face the blonde boy was giving him. It wasn't like he did it to hurt Nick, and he didn't know the whole story. Nick sighed, stepping forward to wrap Jeff into a hug. The boy stiffened slightly, then relaxed, wrapping his arms around Nick in return. "I'm sorry blondie. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were just trying to help."

"Will you at least think about joining if you get in?" Jeff asked, taking a step back as the hug ended, giving his best friend the best puppy eyes he could manage. "Please? For me?"

Nick groaned, running a hand through his hair. He was powerless to that look and Jeff damn well knew it. It was the second time he used it today for that exact reason. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask." Jeff grinned, bouncing forward to pull Nick into another quick hug before walking on over to his bed to get his own things ready for that night.

Nick sighed, gather his scattered clothes and items from his bed before walking into the bathroom. As he locked the door and climbed into the shower, the only thought in his mind was 'How am I going to tell my dad about this?'

Because Nick knew without a doubt if he got in he would be joining, that one look from Jeff was all it took to get him to do anything.

Even if it was something his father had forbidden him to do before he came to the school.

* * *

**KeepYouInLine:** How’s Blaine?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I don’t know

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I…

 **CoopellaDeVil:** He’s _scared,_ Evan

 **CoopellaDeVil:** What if I made the wrong choice bringing him here?

 **KeepYouInLine:** You didn’t.

 **KeepYouInLine:** Cooper you and I and everyone else here knows that Dalton is the safest school in the country. Bringing Blaine here is the best thing you could have done for him.

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I could have taken him back to California like he asked

 **KeepYouInLine:** Do you really think that would have made things better?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** no, probably not

 **KeepYouInLine:** Blaine is going to be fine, Cooper. It might take him a while to adjust, but I promise you he’ll be okay

 **KeepYouInLine:** He’s a fighter, right?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Yeah…

 **CoopellaDeVil:** You’re right Ev

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I’m just worried about him

 **KeepYouInLine:** I know you are Coop.

 **KeepYouInLine:** But we’re here for you. For both of you.

 **KeepYouInLine:** Everything’s going to be okay.

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Thanks, Evan.

 **KeepYouInLine:** Hey, that’s what brothers are for.

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Wes said we’re more like divorced parents who are still best friends and raising their children together

 **KeepYouInLine:** Why did we get divorced then?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I assume we only got married because of the kids and the realized that was a shitty reason for marriage

 **KeepYouInLine:** So it wasn’t like a scandal or anything we just realized there was any romantic love to the relationship

 **CoopellaDeVil:** It makes the most sense, yeah

 **KeepYouInLine:** In the fact it makes absolutely no sense at all, right?

 **KeepYouInLine:** What is it with Wes and marriage anyway, like why does he describe people in terms of their marriage status

 **CoopellaDeVil:** I mean it probably has something to do with his fantasy relationship with his girlfriend and the fact he watches too many wedding tv shows

 **KeepYouInLine:** We should probably stage an intervention at some point

 **CoopellaDeVil:** ehhhhhhh

 **CoopellaDeVil:** That’s a problem for Maddie and/or David not us

 **KeepYouInLine:** He’s our friend

 **CoopellaDeVil:** yeah, but he’s their boyfriend and platonic husband

 **KeepYouInLine:** Fair play

 **KeepYouInLine:** I assume you’re not going to come back to the dorm tonight?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** No. I want to be here in case Blaine needs me.

 **KeepYouInLine:** I figured. I’ll see you in the morning then?

 **CoopellaDeVil:** Yeah, of course. Night Ev.

 **KeepYouInLine:** Night Coop.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs used in this chapter:  
> Reflection by Christina Aguilera  
> Piano Man by Billy Joel  
> Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield  
> Viva La Vida by Coldplay
> 
> Have questions? See things that you think I can improve on/need to edit? Missed something in my tagging?  
> Leave a comment or message me on tumblr @RavenpuffBlogs
> 
> And thank you for reading.


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